When done well, kindergarten entry assessments

(KEAs) set the school foundation for eff ective

family engagement strategies by informing teachers’

understanding of children’s needs and parents’

understanding of how they can support their

child’s success in school. Th is includes

drawing upon the information that

parents have about their children as

well as informing parents of how

children are progressing in school.

Parents are experts on what their

children know and can do – what

assets, interests, skills, and features

make their child unique and uniquely

valued. Some research, particularly from

the medical community, has shown that certain

information gathered from parents regarding children’s

health and functional abilities is more accurate than what

practitioners themselves can observe and is necessarily

for comprehensive screening and surveillance.2

Parents have distinctive insights about their children

that are needed to off er a full picture of what children

know and can do at the time of kindergarten entry and

2 The National Survey of Children’s Health, for instance, contains a wide variety of questions with strong validity and reliability regarding children’s health status, based solely on parental reports. Particularly related to functional health (such as ability to engage in activities) and social and emotional development, parental reporting is key to the child health practitioner in assessing young children. Such tools as PEDs and Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) are in common use by health practitioners to aid in screening for developmental, behavioral, and physical concerns, particularly of young children, who are not as able as adolescents to provide information.

Introduction

Assessment practices at kindergarten entry provide

an opportunity to understand the strengths, interests,

and needs of individual children at the

time of kindergarten entry in order to

inform instruction and development.

Th ey also provide an opportunity

to assess the characteristics and needs

of kindergartners overall and by

subgroups in order to track progress

in ensuring that children start school

healthy and prepared for success.

Finally, assessment practices off er

the opportunity to establish mutually

benefi cial relationships between schools and

families at the very beginning of a child’s formal

schooling experience.

“School readiness” includes fi ve domains of learning:

physical well-being and motor development; social

and emotional development; approaches toward

learning; language development; and cognitive

development and general learning.1 Children are

assessed in each of them in order to determine their

readiness for success in school and what supports

they might need in order to thrive.

1 National Education Goals Panel. (1998). The National Education Goals Report: Building a Nation of Learners, 1998. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Offi ce.

FamiliesKnow Best

By Charles Bruner, Executive Director, Child and Family

Policy Center & BUILD, Research and Evaluation Partner;

Lindsey Allard Agnamba, Miriam Calderon, and Kate

Anderson Simons, School Readiness Consulting team

July 2013

Parents are

experts on what their

children know and can do –

what assets, interests, skills,

and features make their child

unique and uniquely

valued.

how instruction can best meet their learning styles and

needs. As states work toward implementation of new

or enhanced kindergarten entry assessment systems,

the information that families can provide should be

thoughtfully considered and incorporated. Th is brief

discusses the state of the fi eld in incorporating family

information into KEA’s and the role that such family

information can play.

In the past decade, the signifi cance of eff ective

assessment has grown as states have been engaged in

important work to enhance the capacity of their state

data systems, including in early learning.

Since 2005, the State Longitudinal Data

Systems (SLDS) grants have led to

signifi cant work to build and implement

longitudinal data systems, which

serve to enhance the ability of states

to make data-driven decisions about

education policy and services. Many

states are also working specifi cally

to link early childhood data to the

overall SLDS, and inclusion of data at

kindergarten entry is central to these eff orts.

More recently, the Race to the Top – Early

Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grants program

has generated momentum in states to further develop

and implement KEAs, driving state leaders to create

common, statewide approaches for determining the

status of children at kindergarten entry. As part of

this work, states have an opportunity to think about

a system for gathering information from families in

a way that leverages what families know about their

child, and engages them in supporting their child’s

future development. At the local level, there is a

signifi cant amount of work already being done to gather

information from families, and a careful look at what

and how information is collected at the local level can be

useful in guiding states’ approaches to family engagement

in the implementation of KEAs.

Th is brief proposes a framework for conceptualizing

family involvement in the KEA process, examines

the kinds of data that may be useful to collect at both

the local and state levels, and highlights promising

practices representing a range of approaches for getting

information from and sharing information with

families in the KEA process, with a specifi c attention

to this work in RTT-ELC grantee states.3 Th e brief

was conceived because state leaders identifi ed the need

for better integrating family knowledge at a child’s

entry into kindergarten. It concludes with a set of

recommendations developed with the input of state

leaders to move forward on an agenda to better gather

and use information from families in the KEA process.

Framework for Family Involvement

in KEA Process

Th e purpose of a KEA is to obtain a

comprehensive assessment of a child’s

development upon school entry. Eff orts

to involve families as part of a KEA can

have several important benefi ts.

Th ey can:

1. Provide teachers and school leaders

with a more complete picture of

incoming students and their prior

experiences, strengths, and backgrounds;

2. Connect teachers, families, and children

in two-way communication that builds a

foundation for strong relationships, home/school

connections and school success;

3. Provide state leaders with robust data on which

to base decisions on services and supports

children and families need in the years before

kindergarten;

4. Engage families as key partners in using the

information to eff ectively support children’s

development and link to and eff ectiveness of

needed services.

Families have important information to contribute to the

teaching and learning process, and through the KEA, can

be engaged as meaningful partners at the start of their

children’s schooling experience. Parents can add value to

the information that teachers might collect, since children

often exhibit diff erent behaviors and skills in diff erent

contexts. For example, as ibe teaching guide emphasizes,

“A teacher may observe that a child’s use of language in

the classroom is limited, but a parent may observe that

the child has an extensive vocabulary and uses language

3 At the time of this paper, the US Department of Education has made 14 grant awards under RTT-ELC to: CA, CO, DE, IL, MD, MA, MN, NC, NM, OH, OR, RI, WA state, and WI.

2

Families Know Best

The significance

of effective assessment

has grown as states have been

engaged in important work to

enhance the capacity of their

state data systems, including

in early learning.

in sophisticated ways in his interactions with siblings

and neighborhood friends. With this information, the

teacher knows that the child is capable of using language

in play and can then plan ways to encourage language use

within the classroom.”4 Th is is likely to be particularly true

when the home culture or language is diff erent from the

classroom culture or language.

Families also serve as key informants on contextual

factors that impact children’s learning and development.

Eff orts to gather information from families about health,

prior early care and education experiences, and the

child’s personality, routines, and preferences can assist

teachers with the transition to school.

4 Excerpt from the ELORS Teacher's Guide by Margaret Gillis, Ph.D., Tracey West, Ph.D., and Mary Ruth Coleman, Ph.D. http://www.getreadytoread.org/screening-tools/supportive-materials-for-elors/assessment-in-early-childhood

As states plan for how to leverage the expertise of

families in the design of KEAs systems, it is helpful to

move beyond the focus on a single KEA instrument

itself toward conceptualizing a broader vision for

incorporating family input into the KEA process.

Th is work involves thinking along a continuum that

moves from no input or communication between

the teacher and families to one-way communication

or input (parents providing family information to

teachers or teachers reporting back on the child

assessment to parents), to, at the most sophisticated

end, a bi-directional process that involves families as

key informants and participants in their children’s

kindergarten experience and teachers as learners and

communicators to families about the children they teach

(Figure 1 below).

KEA is administered by the teacher with the

child to assess kindergarten readiness

As states move towards more robust systems for assessing children’s readiness upon kindergarten entry, this framework might

serve as a conceptual model for how best practices are emerging in states that are taking the lead in this work.

CHILD ASSESSMENT KEA

One directional

communication (either

family information

to teacher or teacher

providing assessment

results to family)

Bi-directional communication

and shared decision making on

behalf of the child

CHILD ASSESSMENT KEA

CHILD ASSESSMENT KEA

CHILD ASSESSMENT KEA

FAMILY INFORMATION

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

ASSESSMENT RESULTS

3

www.buildinitiative.org

GOOD

BETTER

BEST

4

Families Know Best

Planning for Family

Engagement in KEAs5

In planning for implementation of a

statewide KEA that includes family

engagement, states must decide what

data are important to collect, how the

data should be collected, and what

data should be collected from diff erent

sources (children, teachers, families,

schools, etc.). In order to decide what

family information is relevant at the state

and local levels, states should investigate:

• What information families can provide that

could inform state policies for young children.

• How information from families can help analysis

and use of other data through a new lens.

• What information families can provide that can

inform teachers and schools in supporting their

children’s learning and development.

States also need to determine how staff conducting

assessments need to be prepared and supported to

engage families eff ectively in the assessment process.

5 The data for this brief was collected via phone interviews or email responses with state leaders or designated representatives in RTT-ELC states using a protocol designed to help the BUILD team understand the current work locally and at the state level.

From a state policy perspective, aggregating information

from families can help states make decisions to inform

policy and resource allocation. For example, data on

participation in preschool or other forms of early care

and education arrangements can help states identify

the demand for and reach of state-funded preschool.

In some instances, this can help to identify barriers to

participation in existing early childhood programs. Th is

information can help states determine how well their

state-funded preschool programs are reaching children

with diff erent family backgrounds and take necessary

actions to target resources and engage in additional

outreach eff orts. In addition, data on home language and

special needs can help inform professional development.

Data on physical and social emotional development can

help inform decisions about other health and family

support resources for children and families.

From a teaching and learning perspective, collecting

information from families on children’s particular

interests, skills, and personalities can help

teachers to better connect with children,

understand their behaviors in the

classroom, and build on their interests

and strengths. Collecting information

from families on children’s home

language and customs can help

teachers better respond to both

children and their families. Getting

assessments from families about the

skills their children have acquired can

serve as a further perspective on children’s

development and may uncover skills that children

have and that the teacher otherwise might not recognize.

Th is is particularly true for those children who are shy

or for whom kindergarten is an unfamiliar cultural or

language setting.

Approaches to collecting information from families

include the administration of surveys at meetings

with the child’s teacher at the beginning of school,

and parent/teacher conferences during the school year.

Involving teachers closely in collecting information from

families not only helps teachers better understand the

child; it also helps build relationships between families

and schools and provides for a smoother transition for

the child into the school system. Collecting information

from, and sharing information with, families should be

ongoing and, as described, can take many forms.

Collecting

information from

families can help teachers to

better connect with children,

understand their behaviors

in the classroom, and build

on their interests and

strengths.

Th e kindergarten registration process off ers a particular

time at which to collect information from families and to

gather some common information from all families

that can be used at the state as well as

the district, school, and classroom level.

While there have been substantial eff orts

to develop common, valid and reliable

state kindergarten entry assessments

of children conducted by kindergarten

teachers around the time of school

entry (either direct or observational

assessments), there has been much

more limited development of common

tools for gathering information from

parents across a state, let alone testing for

their validity and reliability. Most of the family

surveys or questionnaires used to collect information

from families to date have been developed at the district

or school level.

To better understand the content of surveys used with

families at kindergarten entry, an exploratory review

was conducted of fourteen family surveys currently in

use at the school and district level. Th ese surveys were

selected because they went well beyond gathering basic

demographic and contextual information – often asking

a range of questions about the child’s development and

unique interests and needs. Th e surveys tended to be

at least two to four pages in length, often with open-

ended questions about a child’s special likes or dislikes

or interests. It is important to note that these surveys

were designed at the school or district level, and none of

these surveys are currently being administered statewide.

Equally important to note, among all the surveys

reviewed, not a single data element was common to all

surveys reviewed.

Th e family surveys varied greatly in content, and each

covered a broad range of topics. None of the surveys

included all of the topics described below – but

collectively they provide an expansive set of questions

that show the potential opportunities for gathering

information from families. While reviewing a greater

number of surveys might identify additional questions

and even additional content areas, this review should be

reasonably complete and representative of the types of

family questions currently being employed at the school

level to support school instruction. Th e following is a

content analysis of the fourteen family surveys reviewed:

• Basic information: Th irteen forms requested

basic information, such as the child’s name, date

of birth, sex and age.

• Additional basic information: Seven of the

surveys asked additional basic information,

such as the parents’ names, address, and

phone number. In addition, several

of the surveys asked the name of the

person completing the survey, and that

person’s relationship to the child. A

number of surveys asked for the child’s

preferred name.

• Home language: Of the fourteen

surveys reviewed, ten asked about the child’s

fi rst language. Additionally, some asked about

the parent’s fi rst language and the language

most commonly spoken at home. One survey

requested information about the English language

profi ciency of every family member living in the

household, including extended family.

• Previous experiences: Th e majority of surveys

requested information about the child’s previous

experiences in child care or preschool. Questions

regarding this topic included the length of

time in preschool/daycare, age at which child

started preschool/child care, and days per week

attended. Two of the surveys asked parents to

share any input received from the preschool

teacher. One survey asked for permission to

contact the child’s preschool/ child care.

• Family Composition: Most of the surveys

requested information about family composition.

Nine of the fourteen surveys asked about other

children and adults living in the home, or the

most important people in the child’s life. Most

The kindergarten

registration process

offers a particular time at

which to collect information

from families that can be used

at the state as well as the

district, school, and

classroom level.

5

www.buildinitiative.org

6

Families Know Best

surveys asked about the number of people living

in the home, and some requested the name and

age of any siblings the child had. Four surveys

asked about the marital status of the child’s

parents. One survey asked whether the child

lived in a two-parent, single parent, or blended

(step) family household. One survey also asked if

there had been changes in the family in the last

year or if any big changes are anticipated in the

coming year, and how the child reacts to change.

• Routines and preferences: Several surveys

asked whether the child had a routine he/she

followed at home. Questions asked that revolved

around this topic included: what time the child

goes to sleep, what time the child wakes up,

whether the child still naps, whether the child

plays with children that are not siblings, what

the child’s favorite food is, and whether the child

enjoys playing with younger children.

• Personality: Some questions in the surveys

asked about the child’s personality. Seven surveys

asked about any interests, talents, or hobbies

that the child might have. A few surveys asked

about any fears the child might have, and what

kind of responses brought comfort to the child

when upset. One survey asked how the child

expressed anger, frustration or fear. In addition,

two surveys asked the parent to share something

special about the child.

• Developmental skills: Nine of the surveys

asked about the child’s developmental skills.

Questions on this topic often asked about the

child’s physical health and motor development,

social and emotional development, language

and literacy development, general cognition,

and approaches to learning – often making use

of questions from an existing observational

assessment tool (e.g., Work Sampling) or a

subset of questions from the tool.

• Health: Six of the fourteen surveys asked about

the child’s health. Some surveys asked about

any allergies or dietary restrictions the child

had, while others asked about family history of

hearing and vision problems. Two surveys asked

about any major health concerns, including

long-term health problems (defi ned as an issue

that lasted more than six months). Th ree surveys

requested information about any special needs

the child had. One survey asked the family how

they know when the child is getting sick, and

what the best way to comfort the child is when

s/he is sick.

• Parent goals and expectations: Six surveys asked

about any hopes, expectations, or aspirations the

parent had for the child in the kindergarten year.

Ten of the surveys provided additional space

and encouraged parents to share any additional

information about the child that they considered

important. One survey had extended questions

on the interest of parents in being further

involved in the child’s school.

Th ese surveys covered a wide range of topics and issues

– generally on issues that parents would be uniquely

equipped to respond. From a face validity perspective,

they helped to present a much more complete picture

of the child and the child’s background than could be

obtained from teacher-administered KEA instruments

alone. Th ey show a great deal of potential, if put to good

use, both of providing teachers with a more complete

view of the child and the child’s strengths and of

engaging families with teachers and the schools in the

overall educational process. Clearly, more work needs

to be done to test their validity and reliability as sources

of accurate and actionable information, and more work

needs to be done in identifying how such information,

once gathered, can be most eff ectively used at the state,

district, school, classroom, parent, and child levels.

Some of the RTT-ELC grantee state leaders also

have begun to think systemically about how their

state is collecting information from families. Both

7

www.buildinitiative.org

Massachusetts and Delaware have conducted surveys

of school districts regarding the information being

gathered from families. Massachusetts found that

almost all districts (98%) gathered some information

from families and the information had varied purposes,

from class placement to instruction to need for further

evaluation, although the majority was designed simply

to gather critical contact information. Moving a step

beyond formal surveys, the Watertown District has

implemented a process that engages parents with face-

to-face interactions and provides real opportunities for

them to inform their child’s assessment. Kindergarten

teachers have access to children’s preschool portfolios

for review with families, and on the fi rst day of school,

20-minute meetings are arranged in small group settings

with two-three families and the teacher. Parents are

able to share much of the information that is usually

collected in hand-written surveys, such as fears, concerns

and information such as who will pick the child up after

school. Additionally, parents meet twice a year with

their child’s teacher after they have been assessed using

Teaching Strategies GOLD comprehensive assessment

tool. At these times, families are able to provide

additional information for the teacher to include as part

of the child’s portfolio. Final progress reports, including

family comments, are sent home after the parent

conferences take place.

Delaware also conducted a content analysis of the

family surveys currently in use throughout the state,

with responses from almost all the districts (45 in all).

As with Massachusetts, Delaware’s statewide study of

kindergarten entry surveys found that a wide range of

information was being collected, but there were only four

common data elements across all districts:

• child’s name

• child’s birth date

• child’s home phone number

• parent/guardian’s name

Based on its analysis, the Delaware commission

recommended a common set of background information

that should be collected from all families in all schools

upon kindergarten entry—a standard minimum:

• Child characteristics:

home language;

race/ethnicity;

prior experience in early childhood

settings;

foster care status;

special learning or developmental needs;

place of birth.

• Family characteristics:

parent/guardian contact information;

parent/guardian marital status;

parent/guardian race/ethnicity;

parent/guardian home language;

parent/guardian employment status;

parent/guardian education level;

parent/guardian concern about child’s

development or learning

• Household characteristics:

home or cell phone number;

language spoken at home;

time at current residence/mobility

history;

household income, from a range of

possible income levels;

number of adults and children in the

home

Clearly, this is simply one iteration of possible

background information to collect from all families

of children entering kindergarten within a state.

Importantly, however, such information can be

incorporated into a statewide longitudinal data system

and provides a wealth of such background information

that can be used for a variety of further analyses to

inform policy. As described earlier, such background

information is only one type of information which

8

Families Know Best

parents can provide, however, a number of states now

are considering how to incorporate additional family

information in their KEA systems to complement data

gathered by teachers.

• In Minnesota, the

developmental screening

program administered upon

kindergarten entry includes

both a parent report of

the child’s history in skill

development, emotional

status, and behavior status and

a direct parental observation

of child’s functioning using

standardized developmental

screening instruments approved by the

Minnesota Department of Education for the

Early Childhood Screening.

• Some districts in Ohio have started using

electronic means to survey families and are

experiencing higher participation rates. Th e

Preschool Experience Survey was designed

by the Southwest Early Learning Leaders

(SWELL) collaborative and is distributed to

families of kindergarteners in the fi rst two

months of each school year.

Delaware will phase in statewide family questionnaires

in small pilots beginning in early 2014, based upon the

Commission’s recommendations.

Promising Practices for Involving

Families in the Overall Assessment

Process

In addition to these eff orts to collect background family

information at a statewide level, states also are engaging

families in the overall development and use of KEAs.

Th ey are seeking to develop a KEA that goes beyond

teacher assessments both in gathering information

from families, communicating with families about the

KEA’s that are conducted, and involving families in the

development of KEA’s themselves:

• Illinois is working on a pilot assessment

(Kindergarten Individual Development Survey

or KIDS) that provides an opportunity for

families to assist in the collection of evidence

about where children are developmentally across

multiple domains. Th e information is then

shared at parent-teacher conferences.

Teachers and administrators receive

professional development on soliciting

this information from families.

Early reports from the pilot suggest

that teachers need more time for

family engagement in order to get

meaningful input from families.

• Washington state has implemented

Family Connection, a component of its

Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills

(WaKIDS) program, which connects teachers

with parents of incoming kindergartners by

having them meet in a mutually agreeable

location for a 30 to 60 minute discussion. Th is

meeting captures much of the same information

as many of the kindergarten surveys examined,

such as parental marital status and living

situation, culture, home language, siblings,

etc., but also establishes a personal connection.

Teachers reported fi nding the process to

be very useful but lacked adequate time to

realize the potential. Legislation is pending

in Washington’s legislature that would give

teachers up to fi ve days at the beginning of a

school year to engage families. Th e meetings

would give teachers a clearer sense of new

students’ strengths and weaknesses, information

A number

of states now are

considering how to

incorporate additional family

information in their KEA

systems to complement

data gathered by

teachers.

they could use to tailor their teaching to a new

class. Th e law would exempt state-funded full

day kindergarten classrooms from the 180

required days of school to allow up to fi ve

days at the beginning of each academic year to

implement Family Connections.

• In addition to the statewide family

questionnaire, Delaware is also seeking to

establish a feedback loop with families where

the results of KEAs are shared and teachers

receive professional development to talk with

families about the developmental progression of

their child. Delaware is also planning to involve

parents in an advisory capacity to inform this

work. Th e state is instituting a two-part process

for family engagement:

Resources to families. A questionnaire

will be sent home to families prior

to the start of the school year or

within the fi rst week to learn more

about families and begin to build

relationships. Th e state will develop

resources and strategies that are

inviting to families, such as “getting

to know you books” that allow for

participation from students and

families to assess children’s cognitive

skills (i.e. this is who I live with, this

is who is important, this is how often

we read together, these are our favorite

books, etc.).

Joint review of teacher assessments.

Teachers and families will meet together

to review initial KEA assessment results

and develop goals for children in a

collaborative manner.

In California, the state is working on creating a

parent report component of the statewide assessment

system, Desired Results Developmental Profi le-School

Readiness (CRDP-SR). Th e report will focus on the

fi ve domains of school readiness identifi ed by the

National Goals Panel, and will add specifi c objectives

for dual language learners where applicable. Th e report

will provide parents with a measure of their child’s

development on a continuum as it relates specifi cally to

each domain. (see box on page 1).

Recommendations

As states move forward in developing KEA’s, they should

think beyond kindergarten entry assessments conducted

by teachers (either direct or observational) and develop

strategies for involving families and family information

in the process. States should:

Consider how diverse families can be involved

systematically to provide input into the selection and

development of formal KEA tools.

Decision makers should identify opportunities for

launching a more comprehensive and streamlined

protocol for engaging families in the assessment

development process. In the RTT-ELC applications,

many states indicated they would align the assessment

with information from families, to help support

learning across domains.6 Moreover, states articulated

plans to use assessment information to engage families.

Th ese eff orts appear to be in nascent stages, but there

is a clear desire among most states interviewed to

consider, in the design of new tools or the modifi cation

of existing ones, how family input can be included as a

critical data collection point.

6 Wat, A, Bruner, C, Hanus, A, Scott-Little, C., Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge Fund Information. BUILD Initiative, 2012.

9

www.buildinitiative.org

Teachers’

conclusions about

children’s learning and

development could be

informed by the information

that parents provide

on surveys and

questionnaires.

Determine what family information, particularly

background and contextual information, should be collected

to incorporate into statewide longitudinal databases or other

state early childhood data systems.

More comprehensive background information can be

extremely helpful to states in identifying areas of need

and opportunity – and where additional outreach or

resources can be focused. Th ere are signifi cant policy

questions about the reach and impact of early childhood

programs that policy makers ask, and many of these can

be better answered when there is family, in addition to

school-level, information in statewide databases.

Consider potential integration of information from family

surveys and standardized tools and questionnaires into the

KEA process.

As part of an early childhood comprehensive assessment

system, states should consider how tools

and instruments such as the surveys

and questionnaires examined might be

streamlined and used as a complement

to other teacher-administered KEA

instruments. Teachers’ conclusions

about children’s learning and

development could be informed by the

information that parents provide on

surveys and questionnaires. Teachers’

approaches to engaging and supporting

individual children and engaging their

families can be strengthened by such

information.

Use Kindergarten entry surveys to engage families in ways

that encourage their continued involvement.

Getting and using information from families is a

developing fi eld. Surveys, questionnaires, and other

processes need to be evaluated and improved by

focusing on more asset-based and welcoming questions.

For example, in the local parent surveys which were

examined, the way questions were framed often were

quite diff erent, e.g.:

“How does your child respond when he is

angry or scared?” versus

“Does your child have any behavior issues?”

Th e fi rst question is more likely to elicit useful and non-

defensive responses. Th e latter may produce defensive

responses or narrow parental thinking to mental health

concerns. Many of the kindergarten entry surveys and

questionnaires reviewed for this report could be re-

written to exhibit more parent-friendly language. Again,

one parent survey asked the question:

“How does your child react to new people or

places?”

Another survey asked a similar question, but in a less

user-friendly manner:

“How does your child deal with transitions?”

Survey questions also should be examined from the

perspective of cultural and linguistic appropriateness

and accessibility. Families from some cultures may not

feel comfortable even to responding to written surveys,

and questions themselves may be phrased in ways that

have diff erent meanings and implications for diff erent

cultures.. A diverse group of families might serve

as reviewers to ensure clarity of language and

concepts.

Th e fourteen surveys examined as

part of this preliminary review all

were developed locally, and likely in

response to the absence of readily-

available existing tools. In fact,

there is a limited around of current

comprehensive testing of such tools

for their validity and reliability and to

ensure that the most accurate and useful

information is gathered. Th is clearly is an area

where collective eff orts across states and communities

would be benefi cial.

In addition, schools and states need to create

opportunities and eff ective structures for teachers and

families to work through these surveys face-to-face

and to create the relationships for ongoing input from

parents throughout the kindergarten year and beyond.

Th e purpose of gathering information from families

is to use it, not simply to have parents fi ll in a survey.

Th ere should always be a reason for asking a question

and guidance to teachers and parents in interpreting the

results for positive use.

Move beyond the one directional process of collecting

information from parents and create opportunities for

partnership. States and districts that already have

KEA practices in place can move beyond gathering or

10

Families Know Best

11

www.buildinitiative.org

reporting information and towards creating partnerships

with families that include the parents as key informants

and contributors to the teaching and learning process

of their children. For example, teachers and families can

meet together to review KEA assessment results and

develop goals for children in a collaborative manner.

Discussing the KEA also provides a wonderful platform

for staring a conversation with family members about

their role in supporting their child’s development.

Having “what you can do” tools and resources ready for

parents at this time will help teachers use the KEA as

a parent engagement mechanism. Even if the specifi c

teacher-administered KEA instruments are somewhat

diff erent across states, if they generally assess what

children know and can do across the fi ve domains of

school readiness, there are potentials for developing

tools and resources for use with parents and as parent

engagement mechanisms that can be in common use.

Conduct Further Research

Th is brief is the initial phase of a larger eff ort to compile

information and assist states with conceptualization,

development, and implementation of family engagement

in Kindergarten Entry Assessment systems.

To help states move toward these goals, future research

in these areas should be conducted:

• Examine the full array of family engagement

practices happening at the local level

during the transition to kindergarten and

at kindergarten entry, and assess current

capacity to replicate, scale, formalize, or

enhance and improve these processes as part

of the KEA.

• Understand the process and entry points

for collecting data as well as the uses of data

collected from Kindergarten Entry Surveys

to ensure data collected is useful and used.

• Learn about ways that teachers are being

encouraged to integrate information from

survey/questionnaires into the KEA.

• Further develop specifi c family survey

instruments and questions. Conduct validity

and reliability analyses on them to build a

stronger base of instruments and questions

for use in the fi eld.

• Further develop a core list of background

information to be incorporated into

statewide data and develop guides for its

analysis and use to develop additional

responses to young children in the critical

early childhood years.

• Examine how survey instruments and other

ways of collecting information from, and

engaging with, families are used in the fi eld

and what is required to make eff ective use

of them (e.g. training and staff development

for teachers, extended time scheduled for

meeting with families, etc.).

• Gather data about what new approaches

being developed as part of the KEA that

would promote partnership with families in

the assessment process.

• Consider what information parents are

best able to provide to give teachers

better knowledge of the child and inform

instruction and inclusion of the child in the

school’s learning environment.

• Determine what information (and how)

teachers can share with parents to best

support them in their role as fi rst teacher in

the context of what the child is learning in

the classroom.

• Gather information about

how to best support teachers

and schools in meaningful

family engagement as

part of KEAs, looking

specifi cally at how much

time is needed and

examine teacher and

administrator professional

development needs.

• Identify whether written

materials correspond with, and are

appropriate for, the reading levels of the

diversity of families.

• Examine whether interactions are

sensitive to the diversity of cultures and

native languages of families and conduct

research to assist in tailoring KEA family

engagement to the diverse cultures and

languages of families.

Conclusion

Kindergarten entry is a critical opportunity to engage

family members and draw upon their knowledge about

their children in the educational process. It is also an

opportunity to begin mutually enriching family-

school relationships that encourage family

engagement in the child’s continuing

education and development. Th e

current emphasis upon developing

statewide KEA’s provides a moment

in time to consider how families

can be honored as experts on their

children. A KEA system designed

and implemented eff ectively has the

potential to initiate a partnership with

families that can be carried throughout

their child’s school career.

Th is brief is an initial step. Th e lack of commonality

and consistency in family surveys even within a state

is indicative of the need for more concerted work to

develop comprehensive KEAs that incorporate parent

knowledge. It is important to collect relevant, useable

data in a manner that will build trusting relationships

between the schools and families. It is also important

not to collect data for data’s sake. State leaders must

create a family partnership plan that is not overly

burdensome on families and that is sensitive to cultural

and language diversity.

Acknowledgments

Th is brief was made possible through generous support

from America Achieves.

Th ank you also to Dori Mornan and Sherylls Kahn, School

Readiness Consulting, who provided research support.

And, many thanks to outside reviewers Sherri Killins and

Karen Ponder.

Kindergarten

entry is a critical

opportunity to engage family

members and draw upon

their knowledge about

their children in

the educational

process.

12

Families Know Best